Thursday, November 19, 2009

I've been very sick the last couple days. Nick has been coddling me through the whole horrible thing. It helps me to see what a great father he will be.

It seems to me that lately, nothing can happen that I don't immediately relate to adoption. I get sick; I think about what a great father Nick will be, and how nice it will be to baby our children when they feel bad. The car overheats; I think about how we should get a new one so we can get around easier as a family once the baby comes. My students confront me angrily; I practice discipline techniques learned in parenting class.

I suppose it's the same thing a pregnant mother would do with all that waiting time. So, I think I'm mentally pregnant -- heart pregnant. This is my time to contemplate and prepare.

Even though I'm sick, even though I'm busy, even though there are hundreds of steps to be completed before we even begin actually "waiting" for our child, I'm happy.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Did you know it's possible to breastfeed an adopted child? Even if you've had a complete hysterectomy (as I have) or have gone through menopause, your body is still capable of producing milk.

I found out about this a while ago, and had given it a thought now and again, but now that we are truly beginning the process, I'm thinking about it even more.

I've done a SIGNIFICANT amount of research on this topic. According to a number of studies, the milk of an adoptive mother is equal to that of a birthmother's milk ten days postpartum. So, the child is getting all of the immune and health benefits that a birthmother's milk provides. It's a very healthy choice, and also allows for very valuable bonding time between the new mother and child.

Most adoptive mothers need to supplement their feedings for a little while with an SNS or Lact-Aid type system, as their milk supply continues to grow. But, most are able to eventually produce all the milk their baby needs with a little time and effort.

Please, take a moment to learn a little bit more about it from the following websites:

A very informative website with lots of links that are very valuable in deciding if adoptive breastfeeding is for you. It also contains helpful information for those who decide to follow through.

The best website (in my opinion) about adoptive breastfeeding is Ask Lenore. Here, you can find some FAQs, The Newman-Goldfarb Protocols for induced lactation (including regular, accelerated, and post-menopausal protocols), and message boards to connect with others in the same situation. Be aware that even though there are medicine/hormone induced lactation protocols, you can induce lactation naturally without the assistance of drugs. But, if you choose to use the Domperidone, there is no risk to the child or mother. The drug does not cross the blood-brain barrier as does Reglan, and does not express in the milk in any significant quantity.

A collection of moving stories from adoptive mothers who have breastfed their children can be found here, courtesy of La Leche League Intl.

A very nice blog post about adoptive breastfeeding that also deals with possible first-mother reactions and hospital etiquette.What do you think about Adoptive Breastfeeding? Are you planning to breastfeed your child? Have you had success/failure with it?

Saturday, November 7, 2009

So, Halloween has come and gone. As a child, I wasn't allowed to celebrate Halloween. So, we didn't dress up in costumes, and we didn't get candy. We went to church. Okay, okay... we did get a little bit of candy at church. But our little brown lunch-sacks are pathetic compared to the overflowing PILLOWCASES that some of the kids in our neighborhood were carrying around this halloween.

Now that I'm an adult, I choose to dress up for Halloween. I've always been a fan of getting into costume. I dabbled in theatre in High School. Once I even got to dress up as a male detective. I had so much fun gluing facial hair under my nose and padding my gut. I was also in a chamber choir in high school. There, we got to dress up in medievel costumes and sing old, old songs.

Anyway, this halloween, I broke out my old choir costume and decided to be a creepy queen. I gathered some inspiration for the make-up from Tim Burton's Queen of Hearts. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the back of the costume to zip up, as I've gained about 35 pounds since high school ended ten years ago. I had to stay seated on the porch the entire time, with my back to the house. But, no one was the wiser.

Nick dressed up as a zombie. He got his hands on an old suit jacket and tore it to shreds. Then, he proceeded to scare the neighborhood children without even trying. It was so cute! Thankfully, the children weren't scared enough to run away. They got their candy and then cautiously fled the porch clinging to their parents. :)

Last year, we were superheroes. The year before that, Nick was a giant poodle (complete with pink bow) and I was a masked wrestler. I can't wait until next year!!!!

Edit:Oh yeah! Kitsch dressed up too. He was Frankenstein again this year. (I love this costume.

About Us:

We are two, happily married teachers/writers journaling our journey to build our family through the adoption process.

We are unable to conceive a child due to infertility. Though painful, it has grown us closer together, strengthened our desire to build our family through adoption, and brought us our beautiful little girl. We are journaling the excitement, fears, ins and outs of our adoption process so that others can learn from our experience.